Cry of Jazz Screening at Indiana University Today!

We were just alerted to today's screening of The Cry of Jazz, a film by Ed Bland that we covered on the site late last year.

The Cry of Jazz, described as a semi-documentary film, was completed in 1958 in Chicago by KHTB Productions. Long before the concept of Black culture existed, The Cry of Jazz argued that Black American life shared a structural identity with jazz. It is one of the earliest documentary films made by Black Americans. Shot on a very low budget, the film was entirely financed from the paychecks of the filmmakers. Some 65 people worked on the film for free.

The Cry of Jazz screens today at 3pm at Indiana University in a free, ticketed event. The screening is sponsored by the Black Film Center/Archive and IU Cinema. Ed Bland is scheduled to be present for a Q&A following.